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Thursday, February 10, 2011

Maybe it's my "A Type" personality?!

I'm going to step away from my healthy food options today and talk to you about my current fitness journey. I will post more food options along the way, including great meal choices that will fuel your body pre/post workouts, but I wanted to focus this post on my fitness goals. Changing my attitude towards exercise and physical activity was not only key in changing my lifestyle, but in changing my entire outlook on life as well.

As mentioned before, I've never been overweight I've just been out of shape. I'm slender and carry my weight well, but like many individuals I have never been 100% satisfied with my results. So my goal this year is to attain those personal goals no matter what. "No excesses" is my motto this year and I have high hopes of achieving what I desire.

Now, let me stop here for a moment because I'm sure that some of you who may know me are puking in your mouth right now. I understand that I'm thin and in relatively good shape for my age and even compared to most people for that matter. But what I don't understand is why people immediately roll their eyes and let out a "You're kidding right?!?!" when I tell them my personal fitness goals. This drives me NUTS! Just because a person is thin, doesn't mean that they can't improve their personal health and lifestyle. So why do people automatically boohiss when I open up and try to relate to them? Please remember that I acknowledge that I am in good shape and that I don't need to loose weight, tone up, or even adjust too many of my eating habits if I didn't want to. I am simply creating personal goals for myself to prove to myself that "I can do it!" and I want to share/learn from others along the way. While I don't understand why people dismiss me just because I'm thin, I do acknowledge that people will do it and I always try to be sensitive to their (inevitable) reactions. This has led me to shut down from others or fail as a result of self-inflected sabotage. It's quite easy to convince yourself that you don't have to go to the gym when everyone around you is telling you the same, or to loose motivation because no one will take you seriously. But that stops here! I truly feel that fitness journeys are very similar for everyone, regardless of their current weight, desired results, or chosen method of training. We all deal with motivation issues, lack of results, fear, temptation, etc., no matter what our current weight is. And equally important (if not more so), we all should be congratulating, acknowledging, and encouraging each other's successes not dismissing them simply based on a person's appearance. There are too few people out there who are actually taking the steps towards healthy lifestyles so we should be celebrating them and not scoffing at them. Don't you think?!?!?

The following is what I hope to achieve and how I how I aim to get there.

Goal :

My goal this year is to get into athlete shape, meaning a low % of body fat and a high % of lean muscle. I want to be in top physical condition for no other reason than to prove to myself that I can do it. 18% body fat is my goal which will put me in the lean/athletic category on the BMI (Body Mass Indicator) chart. I will post more about the BMI in at a later date.

Current situation :

After the Christmas holidays I was at 27% body fat which is healthy for my age, weight, and height. This means that I will be trying to drop 9% body fat.

*I am being re-measured this week so I will keep you updated on my (hopeful) progress.

Plan :

I'm currently attending a "boot camp" type class, 2 times per week where I alternate between "High Intensity Polymeric Interval Training", "Plus", and "Core" sessions. I also visit my gym 3-4 times per week attending various classes or using the equipment on my own.

*My subsequent posts will go into detail about these classes and what specific roles they play in my transformation.

Please don't think that you need to be aiming for similar result as me to enjoy the information on here. Take what you will from here and apply it however it fits best to your own personal goals. I plan to share my experiences with you through posts, photos, measurements, recipes, etc. I also hope to blog about specific exercises that I find useful as well as different classes in the area. I get bored very easily so I am always attending new and different classes in an effort to keep myself motivated ;) I'd love to share those experiences with you because there are some crazy things out there!

While I am not a professional, nor do I profess to have all the answers, I do want to share as much as I can with all of you. Whether you are looking to get started towards a healthier you, loose 10 lbs, or train to run a marathon, I hope that you will find something useful on here. I also hope to learn things from all of you! If you have a stellar workout, a useful tip, find something that I'm doing wrong, or want to come and workout with me, I implore you to let me know!!!!! Drop me a comment or message me privately because I'd love to hear what you have to say.

We are all in this together and together is how we will achieve success!!!

Thanks or stopping by!

Peace and Love,

Lady

*Please consult with your doctor before changing your diet, starting an exercise program, or taking supplements of any kind. Any information obtained should not be used as a substitute for your doctors advice or treatment.

Ashley - Thanks woman! Once you become a personal trainer I want to interview you for my blog :) What do you say?!

Donna - Thank you for always being SO supportive of me <3 Your dedication to your workouts has always been inspirational to me. Even if you only have 5 mins until a class and it's a blizzard outside, you still make your way to the gym! I wanna hit class together soon :)